Curved displays have the potential to solve outdoor viewing problems and improve smartphone battery life

Cuved smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Round shocked us with their sudden arrival a few weeks ago. However it was hard to see why should we use a curved phone, what is its raison d’etre. DisplayMate’s screen expert Raymond Soneira takes the Galaxy Round through its paces to explore its biggest benefit, a feature that is actually not a gimmick. So what is it?

The slight curvature of the screen might seem useless and we are also guilty of writing the feature off as a marketing gimmick, however that slight curve allegedly allows for tangible improvements in display performance. The biggest improvement happens when you view the display outdoors as it has much less reflection and is much more easier to read than a conventional flat screen.

This works by first cutting short the 180-degree angle of a flat panel and thus blocking a lot of the ambient light reflections and second by reducing mirror-like reflections.

Getting more in-depth, the explanation is that the curvature also blocks ambient light reflections and actually magnifies your face in the frame. Usually, ambient light reflections are what’s really bright and in the way out in the sun. Your face is usually the dimmer part and since it’s nearly 2x magnified there is less reflectance and the screen is easier to read. Interestingly, that magnification and ‘focus’ on your face starts to blur after 8 inches, and as one often holds a phone at a larger distance, the reflection from your face gets further dimmed and out of the way.

With a slightly more ‘matte’ texture, the concave display on the Galaxy Round brings huge improvements to outdoor legibility. Having better readability also means the screen can adjust to lower brightness and save hugely on battery.

These are two tangible benefits of a display curved like the one on the Galaxy Round. Now, what we’d want is actually a flexible phone that we could bend when outdoors and keep flat at other times, but that’s still way off. Here’s to dreaming.

All the things that DisplayMate say is very reasonable, but for better outdoor visibility and battery life something like Whitemagic Display or Assertive Display is a better solution than curve display.

Displaymate is a well-known, very respected test lab. They break down their methodology on their website, you can find it there if you care to look. whereas you still have not posted anything other than your opinion, which you are entitled to.

Lol... i still can't find any detail on how displaymate doing their lab test.
From what i read everything they say is just a theory and the possibility of the curve display without any real life proof or comparison with other display tech.

But On the other hand Assertive Display and Whitemagic Display is a technology that has been proven in theory, lab tests and in real life situation.

Another cheap plastic from Samsung™
Why not charge consumers the extra £20, $30 more and provide quality Sapphire™ glass material than this fugly looking curved, rounded device? A rear flat back design looks really contemporary when relaxed on table! If it's the curve device it would be akward to text and type, and dial!
™

The article:
"These are two tangible benefits of a display curved like the one on the Galaxy Round. "
I'll give you and to PA, some more:
1. The curve on the Round, helps to reach easier the corners with the thumb.
2. Better feel in the pocket, because follow the body curves.
3. Less breakable display , because can not fall on the flat display, but hit the edges of the frame insread.
4. Aerodynamic make more possible to fall on the back.

Yes. And not only in the back pocket, but in any pocket. Big phones don't stretch the edges of the pockets so much.
And besides:
..................................................
5. The arch of the hand palm fits to the arch of the phone. That makes the big phones to feel smaller than the same size flat phones. Right?

What they didn't say is that reflections are reduced at some angles and amplified in some angles. When light hits the screen at the right angle there would be an annoying streak of light on the screen. Flat screen is the way to go, flat but can bend to avoid cracks.

Still doesn't sounds convincing to me to have a "slightly-curved" phone, I will stick with the conventinal "flat-display" phone until Samsung or anyone else released a "trully" flexible display phone like Samsung's Youm display concept in CES 2013 which is either a scrollable/foldable phone

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